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Losing a loved one brings a tremendous amount of emotional pain, grief and many types of new stress due to medical expenses, funeral expenses and processing wrongful death claims to help the surviving family members. You may be wondering, what is a wrongful death claim, how do I go about handling it, who can help you with your claim and tons of other questions. That is what we are here for.
As a top rated Colorado Springs wrongful death lawyer, our goal is to make the wrongful death claims and legal process as easy as possible on you while getting you the maximum amount of compensation available so you can get back to life as normal as fast as possible.
As experienced lawyers who have worked with many grieving families of wrongful death victims, we know the consequences of these cases all too well.
Our Colorado Springs wrongful death lawyers at Rector Stuzynski Law Firm are dedicated to getting you what you deserve from the responsible parties of your wrongful death claim. Whether you are the deceased’s surviving spouse or children of the victim, we will fight for you and make sure your legal rights are being upheld throughout your case. If there is someone at fault for your family member’s death and you are pursuing a wrongful death action, call us today for a free consultation and our compassionate team of attorneys will be happy to help you.
Wrongful death is when a person acts negligently and their actions cause another person to lose their life due to the injuries they sustained. When a person acts negligently and causes another person to become injured, it is considered a personal injury. But when those injuries end up causing that injured person’s death, it becomes a wrongful death.
The family of the person who lost their life is then entitled to file a wrongful death claim against the negligent party and seek compensation for the loss of their family member. The family will ask for compensation for their loss in the form of a monetary settlement that the negligent party and/or their insurance company will have to pay out.
The family of the deceased can pursue compensation for all monetary expenses incurred from the accident, injury, treatment for injuries, costs related to the death of the party, emotional damages and more. They can also bring a survival action on top of the wrongful death claim under certain circumstances.
Some examples of wrongful death are as follows:
According to the law or more specifically, wrongful death law, wrongful death is a legal term that means any death caused by default, negligence, or wrongful act of a third party. A wrongful death occurs when someone dies in a situation where they would have been entitled to damages from a personal injury claim had the victim actually survived the accident. These situations are typically from situations involving negligence, willful misconduct, dangerous premises, criminal acts, carelessness, defective products and more. Some of the most common wrongful death causes are as follows:
While there are many different types of wrongful death lawsuits listed above, this is not an exhaustive list. If you believe a family member or loved one has had a fatal injury where someone else is at fault, get in touch with Rector Stuzynski Law Firm today and we will look over your Colorado Springs wrongful death claim for free.
When filing a wrongful death claim, you should be submitting as much evidence as possible that proves the liable party acted negligently and that the injuries sustained from the accident caused the death of the person. This should be evidence proving the laws that the liable party broke(duty of care), how they broke the laws(breach of duty) & how a normal person would have acted in that situation, how their negligent actions were the cause of the injuries and then death(causation) and that the family of the deceased person suffered losses(damages).
These are the four key parts of any successful personal injury claim and wrongful death claim since a wrongful death claim uses mostly the same legal principles as a personal injury claim for validity. The difference between the two is that the injured person died from their injuries in a wrongful death claim.
Knowing if you have a valid wrongful death case is important before taking any steps towards pursuing compensation. But how do you know if your claim is valid or not? Well, a wrongful death is when a person is fatally injured due to the negligent act of another person, company or both.
This typically happens as a result of motor vehicle accidents, product malfunctions, battery or willful violence and many other types of accidents as listed in the previous section. When there is clear fault of who caused the accident, then that person or company can be held liable for their negligence and sued by the affected party for damages. These situations are what we call a personal injury claim, but since a death occurred due to the accident, it is a wrongful death claim instead.
When a fatal injury lawsuit is filed, the plaintiff will have the burden of proof, which means they need to be able to prove that the person/company responsible actually caused the accident that turned into a fatal injury. It is important to note that wrongful death cases are civil lawsuits and do not involve criminal charges, they are just a means of recovering a loss for the affected parties in the form of monetary compensation.
The statute of limitations in Colorado for wrongful death claims is 2 years from the date of death. So as long as you file your claim within that two year range, then you are fine. However, if you wait until after that 2 year period and then try to file your claim, you will lose all rights to potential compensation, so make sure you have your wrongful death attorney start drafting your claim long before that two year mark to ensure they have plenty of time to put together a case before the deadline passes.
The individuals that may file a wrongful death claim within the first year of the death are the spouse or the heirs with the spouses consent, children of the deceased if there is no spouse, or the designated beneficiary. During the first year, the spouse holds the primary power to start the lawsuit and may allow the children or beneficiary to join the suit within the first year after death, however adding them to the lawsuit is not required.
During the second year after death, the spouse, children of the victim or designated beneficiary is allowed to file a wrongful death lawsuit if it has not already been started within the first year. Parents are also entitled to damages when there is no spouse, children or designated beneficiary of the deceased person. The parents, whether still married or not, are entitled to equal shares of the damages unless only one of the parents is still alive, then they would receive the entire share of monetary damages received.
Starting in 2025, the siblings of a deceased also have a claim to a wrongful death in the second year following the death.
When filing a wrongful death suit in Colorado Springs, there are numerous different types of damages that you may be able to receive monetary compensation for. Some of these are listed below:
The state of Colorado allows for economic as well as non-economic damage compensation related to the death of a family member. Economic damages refer to losses that have an actual dollar value such as lost income, medical expenses, funeral expenses and expected inheritance. Whereas non-economic damages would be considered, pain & suffering, loss of guidance/companionship and sometimes punitive damages when the death was due to gross negligence and recklessness.
In some cases, it may make sense to file a survival action as well to claim damages that would have been owed if the deceased had lived through their injuries. Wrongful death damage claims are very complicated and need to be handled by an experienced lawyer, so call Rector Stuzynski Law Firm right away if you think your loved one’s fatal accident was caused by negligence.
A wrongful death claim is when the family of the deceased sues for compensation for the loss of the life of their family member. This is for things like their loss of income, loss of companionship, funeral costs and more. But a survival action is an attempt to receive compensation for what the deceased person would have been entitled to if they had lived.
So the survival action is basically a personal injury claim on behalf of the deceased person for their injuries and losses they sustained from the accident, but the family is pursuing those damages because the injured person lost their life as a result of those injuries. Survival actions occur when a catastrophic accident results in medical care before death occurs, and is brought to recover the cost of care the deceased person underwent before passing away
IRS section 104 states that settlements from personal injuries(including wrongful death) are not considered gross income and will not be taxed as such. However, there are certain parts of a settlement such as punitive damages and a few other case specific payments that may be considered as taxable income. If you are receiving a settlement, make sure to speak with your lawyer as well as your accountant to make sure that you are filing your taxes correctly in regards to your settlement proceedings as this can vary on a case by case basis.
Proving fault in a wrongful death claim is not always an easy task and there are multiple different aspects that need to have occurred to bring on a valid wrongful death lawsuit. These are common across most cases involving negligence, so let’s take a look at some of these items.
Duty Of Care – When filing a wrongful death claim, you must be able to prove that the defendant had a Duty Of Care, such as the duty to operate a motor vehicle safely and within local laws. This could also mean a property owners duty to keep their customers from harm by properly taking care of the property.
Breach Of The Duty – Once you have established that there was a duty of care that needed to be met, you have to also prove that the defendant breached that duty and in turn caused the death of the other party. This means any sort of negligence or careless acts by the liable party such as driving through a red light or finding out your building has structural issues and allowing customers or tenants into the building when it is not safe.
Causation – After showing that the breach of their duty to care happened, you must now show how their negligent action caused the death of the plaintiff. If you are not able to show the link between their negligence and the death occurring, then the defendant isn’t responsible for paying damages.
Damages – The last part is to prove that the plaintiff actually felt real world losses due to the death of their family member. This could mean lost wages, lost income, emotional distress, funeral costs, medical bills and more.
The amount of time it takes to settle a wrongful death claim can vary drastically based on many different factors. First, how soon after the death you file can change whether you are able to file a claim or not. Make sure you file your claim within a timely manner or the statute of limitations may keep you from being able to file. If you are within the limits of the law when you file, then you will need to go through and gather all of the information necessary to get to your wrongful death attorney. Once they have all of that information, they have to go out and do their due diligence on every aspect of the claim to ensure they are going into the negotiations with all the evidence they need to support your claims and get a fair settlement right away.
Most of the time though, the law firm’s investigation can take weeks to months depending on who else they have to deal with and get information from. Then when you send out demand letters, the other party will typically have their attorney or insurance company negotiate a lower settlement amount. With a good wrongful death lawyer and a strong case, you can get a much higher compensation package, so don’t rush your attorneys or it could end up costing you a lot of money.
Most cases are settled without having to go to trial and will be fully settled in a few months, however there are some cases where the defendants lawyers will not accept the claims made and decide to take to case to trial where each side of the case will need to be presented in court until a determination can be made on liability. If your case goes to trial, it can end up becoming a year-long process or longer, so be prepared to have to wait for a settlement unless your case is easy to prove.
When filing a wrongful death claim, the person or company held liable for the damages is the one who is ultimately responsible for causing the event that led to the wrongful death. In some cases that will be a person and in other cases that can be a company. Let’s look at some examples to clear this up.
Motor Vehicle Accidents – Car, auto, truck and motorcycle accidents are extremely common causes of wrongful death. If the cause of the accident was from negligent driving behavior, the driver that caused the accident would be held liable. However, if the vehicle had a malfunction that caused the accident and was not the driver’s fault, such as a brake failure due to faulty manufacturing, then the company that built the car would be held responsible. There are many other factors that need to be examined in each case to determine these things, but this gives you a good idea of how to determine fault in a general sense. Remember, even though most motor vehicle accident cases have a 3 year statute of limitations, there is a 2 year statute of limitations for all wrongful death actions.
Pet Accidents – If a pet ends up attacking someone or causing some other sort of incident that leads to a fatal injury, the owner of the pet would be held liable for the wrongful death claim as they are responsible for keeping their pet from being able to pose a threat to others.
Defective Products – If a product malfunctions and causes a fatal injury, such as a heating blanket that doesn’t have a safety shutoff ends up catching fire and burning a house down with people inside it, the company that produces that product would be the one held accountable. The company had a duty to make sure their product was safe for consumers and failed to do so, which led to the accident so they are responsible for compensating the victims.
If your loved one has been the victim of a fatal injury due to another person or company’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation from the at fault party, so you need an expert lawyer to help you file wrongful death claims and recover compensation. Working with an attorney greatly increases your chances of winning your wrongful death case and also helps ensure you are getting the maximum compensation, so it’s a win-win for you.
Our Colorado Springs wrongful death lawyers at Rector Stuzynski Law Firm specialize in wrongful death accident lawsuits and we will fight to get you the maximum amount of financial compensation possible for your case.
It is important that you don’t try to settle your wrongful death case on your own as you will most likely receive a fraction of what you should get, especially when dealing with the insurance companies and outrageous medical bills.
Our team knows exactly how to make sure you are getting a fair amount of compensation from insurance companies as well as any other parties that are involved. We have decades of experience handling accidental death cases in the Colorado Springs area and we would be happy to represent you so that you can get what you deserve out of your claim. Here are some of the main things our law firm does for our clients in wrongful death and other injury claims:
Investigation & Evidence Collection – We will thoroughly investigate your claim and put all the pieces together to file a solid wrongful death claim, including evidence to prove fault by clearly showing duty, breach of duty and causation. We gather any evidence that can help support the claim, such as pictures, videos, witness testimony, accident reconstruction, police reports and more. With all of this, our team of experts can put together an airtight case against the opposing party so that you and your claim comes out on top.
Examine The Insurance Policies Involved – Insurance policies play a major role in wrongful death claims because the majority of accidents that cause these injuries have some sort of insurance policy surrounding the accident such as car insurance, liability insurance and more. These policies can be confusing to analyze for most people, but our team has been dealing with the insurance companies for so long that we understand all of these policies and the insurance companies tactics to devalue claims very well. We go over every detail and prepare your claim based on what the policies cover and don’t cover for the best chance at getting a favorable outcome with the claim when insurance is involved.
Negotiate Settlements – The settlement is what really matters the most because it’s what is given to the victims to repay them for their loss. This is why it’s extremely important to make sure your settlement is negotiated by experts with tons of experience getting the most out of a claim. At Rector Stuzynski Law Firm, we have been negotiating settlements for decades and know exactly how to prove that your claim is worth what we say it is.
Litigation If The Claim Goes To Trial – Most cases are able to be settled without ever going to court, but in some claims the other side doesn’t want to pay their fair share, they are trying to devalue your claim so they pay less or various other reasons that would make the case go to trial. When a claim goes to trial, you have to prepare for war in the courtroom as both sides will be bringing their best to make sure they pay out as little as possible. Don’t ever try to handle this part of your claim alone, having an experienced wrongful death attorney is very important to coming out of a trial on top.
Finalizing A Fair Compensation Plan – Once fault has been officially determined and accepted by both parties, we need to settle the claim with an exact amount and payment plan. Sometimes this means a lump sum payout where all funds are disbursed at once or a structured settlement where payments are made regularly over a longer period of time. Either way, negotiating a plan that fully compensates the victims and is done in a timely fashion is the key last step to any successful wrongful death claim.
At Rector Stuzynski Law Firm, you can expect the best representation possible throughout your entire claim. Our attorneys give it their all, every step of the way and our staff always keeps you informed of new developments as well as what to expect. We have won many large settlements for our clients over the years and we will do the same for every new client we work with. Don’t settle for less, settle for the best.
Putting a value on a claim is not as easy as it sounds, as there are a lot of moving parts that need to be determined before any accurate valuation can be made. So for an in depth review of your case and what it could be worth, you should speak with one of our attorneys, but here are some factors to consider when trying to determine a valuation on your own.
What monetary losses were incurred? For example, loss of income from the deceased person, loss of wages to support the family, property damage replacement costs, medical and therapy bill costs and more. All of these monetary damages should be added up to find a total that would cover all of these expenses, including future lost income as well.
What non-monetary losses were incurred? There will also be some losses that don’t have an explicit price tag on them, which will need to be valued individually and usually is done with a certain formula that the insurance companies use to value non-monetary damages such as loss of companionship, loss of consortium, loss of services and more. There is also a cap for non-economic damages for all wrongful death cases, though there is no cap for economic losses.
Even with all of this information, you may find your claim being worth more or less than what you have calculated and this could be for many different reasons. Sadly, oftentimes the value of cases are driven by policy limits of available insurance. If the at-fault party does not have assets, and only has minimal coverage, there is no way to actually collect more than the insurance company is required to pay under any policy. This is why it is always a good idea to evaluate your own insurance needs, and ensure that you have uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage, and an umbrella policy, to protect you or your loved ones if you are injured or killed in an accident caused by another person.
Putting a value on a human life is impossible, but insurance companies will try to do it anyway. We can’t give you a general assessment for the worth of a wrongful death case in an internet article, but would be happy to go over the details of your claim together and answer your questions. At Rector Stuzynski we have successfully negotiated and litigated countless wrongful death lawsuits. No one has been easy, as emotions always run high.
The cap for wrongful death damages in Colorado as of January 1, 2025 has been increased from $250,000 (adjusted for inflation) to $2.125 million for non-economic damages. These are significant raises compared to the limits imposed for cases filed before January 1, 2025 and allows the families and loved ones of the deceased to recover a much greater amount of compensation for their losses moving forward.
This does not mean that your specific case will be awarded that amount, as all cases are different. However, if your loss was significant and there were major financial losses such as future income, past lost income, medical expenses, burial expenses and other damages, you may be eligible to receive up to the amounts listed above, but not greater than that amount according to Colorado law bill HB24-1472.
We have helped many different clients navigate the claims process of their wrongful death cases and have won many large settlements. Our goal is to account for every bit of compensation you are owed and prove to the courts that it is time to pay for the results of the at-fault party’s negligence. We offer free consultations, so come on in and chat with our wrongful death lawyers today to see if you have a case.
This article was written by Michael Stuzynski of Rector Stuzynski Law Firm. Michael is a decorated personal injury attorney that has been helping Colorado Springs injury victims get compensation since 2019. With hundreds of injury settlements under his belt, he is an expert in all areas of personal injury law and litigation.
We provide legal services for personal injury and accident victims throughout the state of Colorado, but we focus on clients in these areas: Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Cimarron Hills, Northeast Colorado Springs, Southeast Colorado Springs, Stratmoor, Fort Carson, Air Force Academy, East Colorado Springs, Old Colorado City, Pleasant Valley, Broadmoor, Stratton Meadows, Fountain, Northwest Colorado Springs, Gleneagle, Northgate, Briargate, Monument, Woodmoor, Black Forest, Pueblo, Canon City, Larkspur, Security-Widefield, Peyton, Falcon, Calhan, Castle Rock, Teller County, El Paso County, Elbert County, Park County, Douglas County and nearby cities.
We serve clients injured in the following zip codes: 80907, 80909, 80918, 80917, 80931, 80932, 80933, 80934, 80935, 80936, 80937, 80941, 80942, 80946, 80947, 80949, 80950, 80960, 80962, 80977 ,80995 ,80997 80901, 80912, 80904, 80915, 80905, 80910, 80923, 80922, 80919, 80920, 80916, 80939, 80914, 80951, 80924, 80927, 80938, 80906, 80840, 80829, 80902, 80809, 80841, 80911, 80908, 80929, 80819, 80921, 80925, 80132, 80926, 80913, 80863, 80817, 80831, 80133, 80930, 80860, 80814, 80813, 80118, 80106, 80928, 80866, 80816, 80808, 80104, 80116, 81008, 80864, 80135, 81240, 81007, 80109, 81290, 80107, 80108, 80425, 81215, 81221, 80117, 80827, 81212, 80134, 80835, 81003, 80131, 81226, 81001, 80138, 80125, 81002, 81009, 81010, 81011, 81012, 80124, 81244, 80126, 80820, 80130, 80163, 80433, 80129, 80833, 80112, 80832, 81025, 81005, 81223, 81006, 80470, 80127, 80122 and beyond.
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